Well those are absolutely sexy!! I think I might of found my new seats!

I take it they are real suede and leather?

How comfortable are they? How adjustable? I street drive my car a lot.

 

Microsuede and yep now that I looked them up, the high wear patches are real leather. Good to know, guess I better start using something on the high wear patches then. I assumed they were leatherette like their cloth seats and thus would need no maintenance.

They are comfortable, they keep a good grip on you also. They recline back, but the bottoms have no adjustment. I drive the car non-stop FL to PA at least once a year, I drive straight through.

Info from their website.

 

My car is going to be on this path as well. My main concerns are drivability as well. I like resting my left arm on the door panel and having a large bar there will be a huge issue. 223Hawk, how tall are you and how far back / forward do you keep your seat? Your setup looks like it would work for what I'm looking for.

 

Im about 6 foot and I like the seat leaned back..I really dont notice the cage once Im driving around.

 

I'm 5' 8'', but I can't reach the pedals worth a ****. I have the seat in my Formula pretty far forward. Maybe, I just need to play with the power adjustment points, but I've always had issues with seeing over the hood and reaching the pedals.

 

I sit up pretty far, with the low slung bars I could rest my elbow on the armrest, except I keep my elbows kinda close in when driving, so I actually rest my elbow on the down bar.

I don't know, I'm 5'11" but with where the seat is in the pictures I can fully depress the clutch petal and have only a slight bend in my knee, I don't know how I could ever have the seat further back.

Beaflag you could do it the way Doc has Smoke done up at EFI Alchemy, the down bars in that car actually go through the armrests or something like that, it seems like it leaves the interior open. Don't know if you've ever stopped by there and looked at that car or not. Arm rests still looked functional, I guess the downside is if you wanted it to look good you'd have to do something about the section missing out of the bottom of the arm rest.

 

This is the setup I am planning for next year, although, I am not sure I am going with the swing-out bar. Is the swing-out worth the money? "223HAWK" .... did you go mild steel or chromoly? That is what I cannot decide. My rear suspension is mild steel (LCA's, T/A, PHBR & Drag Bar) and, obviously, I went with the heavier rear (S60) all for budget reasons. I sure hope I am not making a mistake in the weight department. "They" have always said that every 100 lbs. equals .10 second in the 1/4-mile.

 

I bought it used for a great deal, and its Mild Steel. I really wanted the swing outs but I rarely use them lol..The only time I do is when I open the door for my g/f, and I get the swing out too..I just climb over it lol. I thought Id use it more, if I were to do it again and order another for a "street car" I wouldnt get um. I drive this car almost every weekend and a few times to lunch during the week.

 

Those are exactly my thoughts about the swing outs .... the car is low and I always get in butt first anyway and can climb over a low slung bar. My wife doesn't care to ride in the car too often (it shakes too much at idle ... lol) and I too take it to work (5 miles) once or twice a week in good weather and nice weekends when we aren't riding. I am hoping to find a good deal on a used one, but no luck yet. If used prices are close to new (I try not to go much over 50% of new prices), then I usually end up buying new, i.e. my Spohn suspension and S60.

 

IF you dont get swing outs, at least get low slung bars. I'm kinda tall at 6'3", and climbing in and out is a PITA with regular door bars. And if the jerk next to you hugs the line in the parking lot, its even more of a pain trying to get in and out when you can barely open the door. Summer time is no big deal i usually leave the tops off and just hop in.

 

...very good points, although, I generally don't drive my car to the store and I intend to get low slung bars anyway. If I go new, it will be a Wolfe bolt-in and will have the hoop's crossbar welded to meet NHRA requirements.

 

I have Stenod's 6 point with low slung door bars. I just got it installed last weekend so it still needs paint.

 

I thought I read somewhere that low-slung bars were not NHRA legal.......Any truth to this?

 

Based on everything I have read and understand, I am anticipating a 6-point (only 5-point required) roll bar w/low-slung bars to be "good" down to 10.00 ... I have seen nothing to the contrary other than the rear cross brace must be welded to the hoop .... of course at 9.99, everything changes including going to an 8-point roll cage. I don't believe the low-slung bars are legal for a 9.99 or quicker certification.

Please chime in if I am missing something here.

 

The bars height must be between the drivers elbow and shoulder in height.

 

As of '09 the rulebook reads:

All roll bars must be within 6 inches of the rear, or side, of the driver’s head, extend in height at least 3 inches above the driver’s helmet with driver in normal driving position or be within 1 inch of the roof/headliner in the area above the driver's helmet, and be at least as wide as the driver's shoulders or within 1 inch of the driver's door. Roll bar must be adequately supported or crossbraced to prevent forward or lateral collapse. Rear braces must be
of the same diameter and wall thickness as the roll bar and intersect with the roll bar at a point not more than 5 inches from the top of the roll bar. Crossbar and rear braces must be welded to main hoop. Sidebar must be included on driver’s side and must pass the driver at a point midway between the shoulder and elbow. Swing-out sidebar permitted. All roll bars must have in their construction a cross bar for seat bracing and as the shoulder harness attachment point; cross bar must be installed no more than 4 inches below, and not above, the driver’s shoulders or to side bar. All vehicles with OEM frame must have roll bar welded or bolted to frame; installation of frame connectors on unibody cars does not constitute a frame; therefore it is not necessary to have the roll bar attached to the frame. Unibody cars with stock floor and firewall (wheeltubs permitted) may attach roll bar with 6-inch x 6-inch x. 125-inch steel plates on top and bottom of floor bolted together with at least four 3/8-inch bolts and nuts, or weld main hoop to rocker sill area with .125-inch reinforcing plates, with plates welded completely. All 4130 chromoly tube welding must be done by approved TIG heliarc process; mild steel welding must be done by approved MIG wire feed or approved TIG heliarc process. Welding must be free of slag and porosity. Any grinding of welds prohibited. See illustration. Roll bar must be padded anywhere driver’s helmet may contact it while in driving position. Adequate padding must have minimum 1/4-inch compression or meet SFI Spec 45.1.

Hmmmm ... so are these low slung Wolfe roll bars not passing tech for 11.49-10.00??

Anyone been black flagged for this?

Are the straight style side bars mandatory for the driver side?

 

Thank you for finding that the quote with the exact wording.

Also, be cautious of thinking that one guy is getting away with is good enough. Nothing would suck worse that welding in or paying someone to weld in a cage and then failing tech at an event and being sent home unable to race.

 

You couldn't be more correct.

I will have to research more before I actually purchase, but I anticipated going with a Wolfe bolt-in (welded cross brace) and low slung bars until now!

I found this on a website advertising Wolfe roll bars, but there is no telling how old the ad is.

"DESIGNED TO BE A COMPLETELY BOLT-IN 6 POINT ROLL BAR, WITH MINIMAL INTERFERENCE OF ENTRY AND EXIT OF VEHICLE. MAIN HOOP FITS TIGHTLY TO BODY PANELING FOR MINIMAL INTERIOR LOSS. DOOR BARS ARE IN OUR LOW SLUNG (STILL LEGAL) DESIGN FOR A MORE UNRESTRICTED ACCESS TO SEAT. REAR BARS FOLLOW THE ROOF CLOSELY AND TURN OUT BEHIND REAR SEAT AND BOLT TO THE WHEEL WELL BEHIND THE REAR SEAT BELT ATTACHMENT. WHICH PREVENTS COMPLETE LOSS OF AVAILABLE REAR SPACE. FRONT BARS AND REAR BARS ATTACH TO MAIN HOOP ON MACHINED SLEEVES FOR A PRECISE FIT AND CLEAN SIMPLE LOOK. AVAILABLE POWDER COATED BLACK OR UN-COATED SO YOU CAN COLOR MATCH TO YOUR INTERIOR. INSTALLATION ONLY TAKES A FEW HOUR WITH SIMPLE HAND TOOLS AND A DRILL".

Wolfe's actual website says their bolt-in f-body roll bars are legal, but, they do not make the distinction which side bars (low slung or straight style) are legal.

 

It is my understanding that bolt in cages are not legal.

 

from my excerpt above ...

" .... Crossbar and rear braces must be welded to main hoop. ..... All vehicles with OEM frame must have roll bar welded or bolted to frame; installation of frame connectors on unibody cars does not constitute a frame; therefore it is not necessary to have the roll bar attached to the frame. Unibody cars with stock floor and firewall (wheeltubs permitted) may attach roll bar with 6-inch x 6-inch x. 125-inch steel plates on top and bottom of floor bolted together with at least four 3/8-inch bolts and nuts ...."

... at least down to 10.00/6.40.

Wolfe has an option to weld the crossbar to the main hoop on their bolt-in roll bar, but, I see no option to weld the rear braces to the main hoop. I am not even sure the roll bar can be placed into the car with the rear braces welded to the main hoop first.